Philadelphia Phillies: Speedy Quinn just can't stop at second

CLEARWATER, Fla. — There are plenty of examples that speak to Roman Quinn being a uniquely gifted baseball player. A second-round selection in 2011 by the Phillies, just one short season with Class A Williamsport convinced Baseball America to put the speedy shortstop in the 100th and final spot on its heralded list of top prospects entering 2013. It’s also worth noting that Quinn was one of two players on that list of prospects who warranted a maxed-out scouts’ score of 80 in speed. The other with that perfect speed score was Reds prospect Billy Hamilton, who captivated fans of minor-league baseball by swiping a record 155 bases in 2012.

Quinn stole 30 bases in 66 games for the Crosscutters. However, he had one speedy statistic that even Hamilton couldn’t boast:

He had more triples (11) than doubles (nine). Legs willing, he intends to keep doing that.

“That’s something I like to do,” said the 19-year-old, who bears a striking physical resemblance to Jimmy Rollins when he was a teen in the Phillies’ system. “I kind of feel bad if I only get a double. If I hit a ball in the gap, I’m thinking triple. I gotta get to third. I can’t stop at second.”

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Only a few big-league players since World War II have had more triples than doubles in a season. The last was White Sox speedster Lance Johnson, who while in the final year of a run during which he led the American League in triples for consecutive seasons had 14 triples and 11 doubles in 1994.

Another player who accomplished that oddity was two-sport star Deion Sanders, who, despite only playing four months for the Braves in 1993 because he was splitting time with football, led the National League with 14 triples and had just six doubles.

Quinn said only once last season did a team deny him when he tried to go from the batter’s box to third.

“There was one game last year, I hit one down the line,” he said. “The ball got there, but I think he missed the tag.”

Aside from blinding speed, Quinn has another thing in common with the man known as Prime Time: The Florida State baseball program wanted him. Unlike Sanders, Quinn turned down his FSU athletic scholarship and accepted the Phillies’ signing-bonus offer of $775,000 on the eve of the deadline to sign college-committed players.

While the late decision meant he wouldn’t see any action for one of the Phils’ rookie-level teams in 2011, it was a blessing in disguise. A right-handed hitter in high school, the Phils challenged Quinn to take up switch-hitting in preparation for the 2012 season. Less than a year after taking his first serious left-handed hack, Quinn was standing in the left side of batter’s box for the Crosscutters.

Phillies hitting coach Steve Henderson had been a roving instructor before he was hired to be Greg Gross’ replacement in the majors. He played a big role in Quinn’s transformation into a switch hitter.

“He worked really hard at it,” Henderson said. “The first month of the season when he got to Williamsport, I got a phone call saying he wanted to quit switch-hitting. When we were in Instructional League (last spring), he didn’t get a base hit from the left side until the last week of it. But he stuck with it. Honestly, sometimes he’s quicker with his bat on his left side than his right.

“Near the end of the season I joked with him, ‘Well, we’re going to take that away from you at the end of the year.’ He said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘You’re not switch-hitting any more.’ And he got this look on his face, and I said, ‘Nah, I’m just BS-ing you.’”

Despite being new to left-handed hitting, Quinn batted .281 (.256 as a LHH) with a .370 on-base percentage for Williamsport. In addition to leading the New York-Penn League in triples and stolen bases, he had a league-best 56 runs scored.

“I was confident in my speed,” Quinn said. “It’s big for me, knowing that I’m able to go out there and use it in many different ways. They say speed never slumps.

“I liked the transition. Most people who hit grounders or choppers don’t get hits, but I can use my speed to do that.”

The Phillies have Rollins signed through 2014 with a vesting option for 2015, and three more full seasons in the minors probably is necessary for Quinn to progress as both a switch-hitter and as an infielder (he primarily played outfield for Port St. Joe High).

Henderson said Quinn has a way to go, but his speed is something that makes him immediately exceptional.

“He’s right up there,” Henderson said. “I remember seeing guys like Vince Coleman, and he’s like that. I remember when I got to the (Tampa Bay) Rays and Carl Crawford would hit a routine ground ball to second and nearly beat it out. I don’t think Carl can run that fast anymore, but he’s right up there with those guys.”

What the Phils like even more is Quinn’s dedication to the sport. His high school wasn’t a baseball powerhouse. Football and basketball were kings there, and Quinn was a good point guard. Yet, he calls baseball his true love, and the coaches can tell.

“He’s a good athlete and a very intelligent person,” Henderson said. “He knows the game, and he’s still learning. We still need to get him to bunt, but he knows how to steal a base. He doesn’t just get to first base and take off. He knows when to go.”

And when Roman Quinn decides to go, there aren’t many out there faster.